Off The Deep End

Posted on Sun Feb 16th, 2020 @ 4:57am by Captain Benjamin Ingram Dr & Lieutenant Commander Meilin Jiang

Mission: S2:1: Into The Drowning Deeps
Location: Science Lab, Canopus Station
Timeline: MD 4 : 16:00

Aimee had gotten a quick start in the morning and departed from her quarters in her uniform. She had debated not even bothering with it anymore everyone on the station seemed to have it in their heads that she was a thirteen-year-old girl playing Starfleet Lieutenant Junior Grade with a Doctoral in Psychology anyway right? She entered the science lab ready to work on her latest project and luckily inside was the science officer she had met the night prior and had dinner with.

Ensign Sara Chang smiled when she saw the short Counselor, "You made it Doctor," She said from the workstation. The pair had discussed the idea that Aimee was pondering following the incident with Colonel Sytex. "I've already set the parameters for your experiment at workstation ten and the sample of blood we took is there as well." Sara said cheerfully.

Aimee grinned brightly, "Thank you Sara," She said to her new friend as she sat down behind the desk. The experiment was simple enough she was going to take a sample of the infected blood from the Colonel and mix it with her blood to see what would happen. Aimee lowered the containment around the two samples, and with the mechanical arms, mixed the two. She then watched and waited, "Got any plans for lunch?" She asked.

Sara was watching one of her own experiments, but idly spoke a reply. "Remember that Yeoman I was telling you about last night?" She asked rhetorically, "He asked me out for lunch this morning when we bumped into each other in the promenade. I figured I would entertain the idea."

"Keth?" Aimee asked Sara with a slight smirk on her face, "Yeah he's an interesting one," She said with a nod while continuing to monitor the two samples inside the containment chamber. "I lost my appetite when he barged in on my lunch yesterday, but I still wish you luck Sara," She leaned back in her chair. "Nothing is happening," She said and brought up the computer display next to her. "It's like the blood samples aren't even combining."

Sara got up after making certain her experiment wasn't going to go super nova, "What do you mean nothing is happening?" She asked rhetorically as she came to a stop and looked at the data stream. "Something should have happened by now," She crossed her arms over her chest. "This is strange indeed..."

Aimee nodded, "Well I guess I'll go with option B," She said with a shrug and collected the sample from inside the containment into a well shielded container.

"Option B?" Sara asked.

Aimee went inside of the containment room that was attached to the science lab, "Computer activate all necessary safeguards to seal this room off from the main science lab. Prepare to jettison on my command," She said and took a deep breath. "Option B is to infect myself Ensign Chang, "She told her friend.

"You're crazy!" Sara exclaimed through the connected comms unit, "Completely mad..." She tapped her communicator, "Science Lab Ten to Captain Ingram, to Doctor Jacobs, to Commander Jiang... I need you in here now! Counselor Paulsen is about to inject herself with the same infection that the marine unit has!"

=/\="This is Captain Ingram, I'm on my way. Alert a medical team to prep in quarantine, given from what I'm seeing on my screen she's activated the FireWall Protocol, nothing in or out of that room even by the transporter. If this goes badly we'll need to move her."

Aimee brought the hypospray that she had brought with her, "I'm not crazy I have a sound hypothesis and if I'm correct I'll be perfectly fine," She responded to her friend. "Computer set up vitals on the monitor outside of this chamber and display my vascular system," She then injected herself and threw the hypospray down.

Ensign Chang stood there blinking rapidly while she watched, "Completely... How do you feel Doctor?" She asked suddenly finding herself to be quite curious.

A medical team arrived, carrying a variety of packs of tools and equipment plastered with words like 'Emergency' and 'Biological Containment'. But like a child's rhyme, there was something there that was not like the others. Maybe it was the gait, the look, a sense of assurance, or the lack of a Starfleet uniform. One of the medical team got a look from one of the Station Security officers who'd manned the doors to the lab.

"Don't worry, Dr Jacobs was on hand in Medical when the call came in. He's been certified by the CMO," one of the nurses said as she set down the heavy pack, her pale freckled cheeks and sing-song Irish accent making it sound all above board. "You hit the red button, we come running with anyone with a pulse and a licence."

Less than a full day. That was how long he had been assigned to his current mission. That's all it had apparently taken before one of these friendly idiots had tried to kill themselves with their bravado. He wasn't yet sure exactly who or how, but a full on Code Blue put an interesting shine on the afternoon.

Murray held his hands up, after he'd placed his own share of their equipment down at his feet. Palms outward, the medic canted his head to the side and radiated a nonchalant confidence. "It's true," he said. "I'm legit. You guys know what happened exactly?"

The telltale whine of a site-to-site transport filled the air just before Meilin appeared at Murray's side. Her eyes scanned the environment and locked onto Sara. "Report, Ensign," she said. Her tone was even, but her eyes betrayed her displeasure at the situation.

Sara saw the others arriving while she was still monitoring the situation from through the small window, "Doctor Paulsen was attempting to test her blood against a blood sample of Colonel Sytex in order to attempt to answer the mystery as to why the Colonel didn't attack her. She said it wasn't working and said she was going with option B... That was when she activated quarantine protocol and went inside."

"I should have been notified immediately," Meilin said flatly. "Nevertheless... it appears there have been no immediate negative developments?"

Aimee hadn't answered the question when it had been asked and it wasn't until a little while later that she heard the voices through the communications system that she realized others were now in the science lab. "This is perfectly sound scientific protocol," She commented. Aimee looked at the small window before continuing, "And, I feel fine what does the vascular monitor say Doctor Jacobs?"

“Dr Paulsen has a point,” the rich academic aristocrat said as Ingram entered the lab. “Though I will admit her planning is somewhat slipshod. At this point we have no other alternative than to proceed with the protocol.”

Ingram turned a raised eye brow to Murray.

“Doctor? Your opinion?”

The counselor? Perfectly sound scientific protocol? Yeah... okay. That was laughable. But Murray took all of this in, swiftly and without immediate comment. He took mental notes, collated social evidence and considered survival tactics while listening to the people around him. This situation had definite gravitas. Now was not a good time for uninformed speech.

Even on the field mission down to the planet, the danger had not seemed to truly faze these people. In his eyes, this was a good trait for explorers, but it did not always bode well for individuals. This one - the girl who claimed to be a woman cursed by misfortune - had imprisoned herself within a containment and projected her vitals onto the display for all to see. No one seemed happy about this turn of events, except for said female. Hell, the well-spoken Captain sounded curious if anything, so Murray weighed his options and told them straight.

"My opinion? Reckless endangerment or attempted suicide," Murray said, a sideways motion of his head denoting a seriousness reserved for those watching overt insanity. "A tween playing research scientist? I'd have to diagnose narcissism with a minor god complex and recommend continued isolation," the medic added. "But regarding the experiment itself, I need to know the minutiae of the bloodwork, the incubation period of the known viral substance, the nature of Colonel Sytex's symptoms and what he's been diagnosed with. At this exact moment in time however," he noted with a small shrug to indicate the imprecise nature of this whole matter. "There's no apparent sign of infection in this young lady's system."

"Bit of an understatement," Ensign Chang said while looking at the Doctor. She returned her gaze back towards Aimee and then spoke to her. "This is not sound scientific protocol Aimee and you know it..." She rubbed her forehead thinking that the Counselor had finally gone nuts. All the time on the station seemed to point towards that general consensus. There were better ways for the Counselor to handle the experiment, "Also I would like for the record to state that had I known there was an option B and this was it I would have never gone along with it."

"You're all boring," Aimee could be heard saying from the communications unit. She then addressed the Doctor, "I do feel a bit odd," She admitted. "It's probably just the infection no big deal." She leaned against the door, "And, uncontrollably angry too..." A moment later she could be heard laughing through the communications system. "Just kidding I feel perfectly normal. Maybe a bit nauseated, but otherwise just fine."

Sara wanted to roll her eyes, but resisted the temptation, "We need a counselor for the counselor I say," She looked over at the vitals display, "Doctor Murray her white blood cell count is spiking..." She said and pointed at it. "What on earth does that mean?"

Murray didn't bother resisting and let disbelief flood his features. "Does the child have a legal guardian?" He asked. "If so, I think it might be wise to inform them of this situation." He sighed, softly, and wondered idly whether there was a mute button on the containment room. "Viral or bacterial infection, inflammation, excessive physical or emotional stress, allergic reaction, burns, immune system disorder, thyroid problems, leukemia, lymphoma, bone marrow disorder..."

"Did the others ever show signs of fighting off the infection?" Aimee could be heard asking from inside the chamber.

"They did," Ingram said. He made a gesture and a holographic slate appeared with scrolling text. "According to medical records from the Xilosian's and our own testing over the last few months, the body is actually able to fight off the fungal infection with ease. The only problem is the infection leaves behind a residue of self-assembling carbon nanotubes that form structures within the brain of its host. The infection also takes three hours to begin showing physical signs."

Leaving the slate in the air, he looked at Murray.

"The Xilosians perfected a test patch that can pick up the residue from destroyed infection particles in the bloodstream with a 99% success rate. Even this early in the infection cycle, there should be some sort of reaction a patch might pick up?"

The complexity of this situation was not lost on Murray, neither was the lack of any apparent concern or reprimand for the 'child' in danger. Interesting. And different from other ship's captains (particularly Starfleet ones) that he had come into contact with before. While he harboured some concerns for the process that was taking place, his lack of any personal emotional involvement and the absence of any anxiety in the room allowed him to shift any real worry to the side.

"Yes," Murray answered Ingram. He moved to study all the data coming out of the containment room, and delved deeper into Paulsen's records. "But her whole cellular structure is in... some kind of flux. If her immune system continues to fight and wins that doesn't necessarily exclude her from the same issue as your Xilosians." He frowned. "It all depends on which is stronger - the carbon nanotubes or Paulsen's... unique affliction." Murray shrugged. "As I understand it, Paulsen doesn't physically age? But she doesn't forget who she is every day either, which implies the brain chemistry is in conflict with the rest of her. So if these structures are contained within the brain..." He let his voice trail and shrugged again. He had no way to know what would happen, that was down to this impromptu experiment now.

"That's if the fungus is able to transition through the blood-brain barrier as it has in every other mammalian humanoid who has been exposed to it," Ingram said as he stepped beside Murray. "What we have here is a case study, that we have full medical scans from the moment of infection right through to whatever end we discover. Dr Paulsen can perform limited medical tests on herself, up to a point where either her infection status can be refuted or her mental faculties degrade."

He looked over his shoulder at Meilin.

"There is an old human expression about making lemonade, I'm sure you're acquainted with it. This is a unique opportunity," he said blithely. "Coupled with Dr Paulsen's unique physical qualities, this is almost serendipitous."

Murray grinned, but purely internally, the bright smile hidden inside his skull in a private gesture of silent moral agreement. This girl - woman? - test subject had presented herself completely willingly to the proverbial slaughter. No coercion, no fear, just some childish sense of occupying an obvious high ground. And Ingram was going to simply allow this situation to play out, for the purpose of medical study and potential information gain. A chance to sacrifice one and save many then. Low stakes in the big scheme of things.

"Exactly. The needs of the many..." Murray said, quietly. "Paid for by the few." He looked from Ingram to Meilin. "A unique opportunity indeed. Do we have one of these test patches to hand?"

Sara had been listening to the them talking about Aimee and found herself to be relatively confused by the entire thing. She didn't want to intrude and so she slid herself over to one side so that they could continue their conversation. In actuality she was completely terrified for her friend.

Aimee was pacing back and forth as she waited and listening to them talk, "Still feel completely normal," She said with a shrug of her shoulders. She hadn't realized just how childish her voice was coming across while she was inside the chamber. When she heard them mention the patch, "There's four test patches in the chamber with me," She dug into her pocket and presented them. "I want to give it a little more time to prevent a false positive," She told them.

"Put a patch on, please," Murray stated rather than asked, though he did so with a firm politeness. He didn't miss the lab tech stepping out of the way, but neither did he draw attention to her.

Sara looked at the Doctor, "What do we do if she puts the patch on and it gives a positive result?" She asked then looked through the small opening again. "We can't just launch her off the station that seems so cruel..." Sara knew that Aimee probably would have done that long before the others had a chance to react anyway.

"She goes into quarantine with the others," Ingram interjected cooly. "They don't display violent tendencies towards one another, and we are working on a more permanent living solution for them that won't tax medical or present an ongoing security risk."

He wasn't sure when 'launching her off the station' became an option or what the acceptable options currently were, but fortunately Ingram's two cents were thrown in first. Apparently there was at least a few infected Marines on Canopus already, Murray surmised, and it seemed they were only dangerous to the those not in their exclusive fungal club.

"I'd say she's going to have to remain in quarantine for a while either way," the medic noted out loud.

Aimee was already at the table picking out the patch she was going to use. She picked it up after rolling up her sleeve and attached it to her arm. It didn't take long for utter confusion to set in, "It's negative," She said and held up the patch so that the others could see it over her shoulder. "I don't understand... I injected myself directly," She scratched the back of her head. It's not that she wanted to have the condition because she had seen what happened to Kitcher when he had been attacked, but that was not the result she anticipated.

Aimee pulled the patch off and turned around, "Computer scan and display my brain stem and other areas of my brain tissue check for signs of fungal tubules?" She questioned while crossing her arms over her chest. The computer chimed after it had completed its work, "Anything?" She asked the others.

"The fungus isn't passing through the blood-brain barrier," Ingram commented as the fMRI hologram appeared before Murray and himself. "See there? The fungus has replicated slightly in the bloodstream, but nowhere near to the extent it historically has in other patients. Something is inhibiting it from growing to a saturation point where it can pass into the brain, and that inhibition is allowing your immune system to kill it before it can reach the brain."

Ingram looked at Murray out of the corner of his eye.

"Do you concur Doctor?" he asked.

"Yet," Murray answered, and the gravitas in that word had big heavy boots on. "You said it took 3 hours to manifest in the others? That slight replication concerns me, but we're all imperfect systems, even Little Miss Miracle here," there was no sarcasm in his tone, only intrigue. "Interesting... but not an absolute guarantee of immunity. Not yet." He was wondering though, if she did keep repelling this biological invader, how that might translate to protecting the rest of them from the threat. And if Ingram's moral code was as shaky with the captive Marines as it had been on his counsellor.

Meilin had held her peace thus far, but in her opinion she had seen enough. "As far as I am concerned, Aimee Paulsen will remain under solitary quarantine in perpetuity, or until such time that we can confirm that she has not become a Typhoid Mary for the fungal agent. Due to her unique physiology, there is precisely no telling what the ramifications may be. Fungi are not the same as viral or bacterial cultures. It is between life and death, a biological kingdom unto itself with its own laws, rules, and functions which have no regard any other. Counselor Paulsen could very well catalyze the spores into something else entirely." She glared at Ingram, Sara, and anyone else who met her sight line. "If anybody disregards my recommendation, then I will personally file an Article 32 recommendation against them." The preliminary hearing for a general court-martial--an odious threat, indeed. "And I will be immediately notified before any other lemonade is mixed in my science labs. Am I understood?"

"No one was considering letting Dr Paulsen out of confinement until Station medical is able to provide proof that she is, in fact, of no risk of infection to station personnel. The hysterics really do not become you Commander," Ingram said. He then looked at Murray with an expectant eye. "You were the first doctor on call, unlike the CMO or his assistant. To that end I'm putting you in charge of Dr Paulsen's care, ongoing research into the Concordance fungal infection, with as much say in the matter as any Starfleet officer under my command. To that end, it also means you answer to me. Congratulations Dr Jones, you've gotten my attention."

Murray had the decency to appear briefly surprised, then grateful before presenting a proud smile like a good toy soldier. "Jacobs, Captain," he corrected, politely, then Murray nodded and beamed a smile. "Thank you, Captain. I'd be honoured." Great, he thought, in the privacy of his own head. In charge of an emotionally random tween/adult counsellor with suicidal overconfidence in her ability to do everyone else's job on top of her own, as well as counterintuitively minded when it came to medical science. This should be fun.

"Not good enough." Meilin shook her head hard enough to make the locks of her hair away against her face. "Nobody comes near her, not other infected, not in EV suits, nobody. She does not leave that lab. All communication and study will be done remotely with the counselor in full solitary quarantine until we can determine how and if her physiology has altered the fungus. If that seems hysterical, Captain Ingram, then I have just two words." She leaned toward Ingram to speak lower for just the two of them. "Theta Alert."

The Rish medic didn't hear what was said when the two Starfleet officers leaned closer, but he was definitely intrigued to know more. The Chief Science Officer had a far wiser, more balanced view of the situation, in Murray's opinion. That was possibly why any of this crew remained alive to this day, he chuckled internally.

"You know I can hear you right Commander?" Aimee asked the science chief rhetorically from inside the chamber. She checked the chronometer that was counting down. "Alright, time for the next patch," She said and put it onto her arm. She held that one up too showing yet another negative result on it. "I don't think I'm infectious which is strange because I should be."

"It was not meant to be a secret." Meilin pressed her lips together in a mirthless yet hopeful smile. "And that is not how the scientific method works. We will verify, confirm, and then reverify and reconfirm after a period of observation." Looking to Sara, she asked, "What is the state of the fungus?"

Ensign Chang was looking at the monitor, "The fungal spores are almost completely eliminated from her system according to the vitals monitor sir," She said pointing at the screen. "I know you're both upset, but it would seem that the theory panned out and she's immune to it for some strange reason." She looked towards Doctor Jacobs, "In less than two minutes according to the data readout on the display the fungal infection will be completely eliminated without ever breaking the brain barrier."

"Monitor her for changes," Meilin said. "If there are no changes after 12 hours, then we will introduce another infected to her quarantine. If there are still no changes after another 12 hours, only then will we discuss the success of any theories. Until then, solitary quarantine."

"I'm in full agreement with Commander Jiang," Murray stated for the record and those present. He had yet to learn everyone's names, but Meilin he had seen, yet not officially met, during her visits to Cargo Reef. "Absolute isolation, full quarantine and some actual time - not simply a couple of minutes - are all needed here, or we risk infecting everyone on the station. This is definitely not enough incubation time to prove the young lady's immunity, and even if it is, there is no guarantee she won't transfer the fungus to others. I'm afraid, either way," Murray kept his tone and expression serious, though he was as elated as he suspected Ingram was at having this opportunity to indulge his curiosity. "Counselor Paulson is currently a science experiment."

"Agreed," Ingram said, tapping a finger against a tabletop in thought. "Though given the fragile state of Station morale at the moment, we might wish to court a measure of caution. Suddenly our counsellor of note goes missing behind sealed doors, rumours will spread. I know the Security Detachment watching over the quarantine ward think rather highly of you Dr Paulsen after you're meeting with Colonel Systex. I will permit the use of the holo presence system to allow you to remain in quarantine and interact with the outside world. Of course, Dr Jacob's will be monitoring your blood work and neural chemistry, so the first signs of conversion we can cut the link if needed."

Meilin nodded her agreement. "So ordered."

"What a refreshing turn of phrase," Ingram said with a smile. He turned to the glass wall from which Dr Paulsen had cast the die of fate. "Get comfortable in there Doctor. Cure or curse, you'll be enjoying that space for the next few days. Obviously, it goes without saying I am ordering you, when using the holo presence system, not to communicate to anyone your current state of affairs. I'm not sure Commodore Grissom would be as delighted as I in the furtherance of science by any and all means."

He turned his head to look at Jacobs.

"For better or worse being here first gets you a degree of authority in matters. For the time being until someone else with better credentials arrives on Station, you are in charge of medical research. You report directly to myself and Commander Meilin, and have full authority to act in the role of Assistant Chief Medical Officer. Your rank will be something we deal with later," Ingram commanded. Somewhere in the distant past, this conversation had happened before, only with an Ingram in a coiffed wig handing out a letter of marquis to a pirate hunter.

Little did he know that in the 24th Century, he was handed that letter to a pirate of sorts.